Mike Sherry insists Munster have the bottle to produce another big shock – and earn a Heineken Cup final date in Dublin.

Reds hooker Sherry was taken aback by the level of support his side received as they toppled Premiership leaders Harlequins at the Stoop.

Probably the least fancied side in the last eight due to an inconsistent campaign, an impressive Paul O’Connell-inspired display won out after a shaky start.

From that performance comes a belief within Rob Penney’s squad that they can beat favourites Clermont in Montpellier in three weeks.

“Yeah, there is,” said Sherry. “A lot of people write us off but we don’t buy into that.

“At times we’ve let ourselves down – but we know what we can do. On Sunday we thought that result was within us.

“I know a lot of people might be thinking, ‘where did that come from?’.

“But we think it’s there the whole time and we never go out onto the pitch to play like we did against Glasgow (a 27 point defeat). That just happened.

“Maybe it gave us the kick up the arse and focused the minds for this week.

“But definitely we have the belief. We know it’s going to be a huge challenge, Clermont are a quality side.

“I watched them on Saturday (against Montpellier). They’ve a few incredible individuals. But we’ve another great European away day to look forward to.

“We’re close now – one game away from a home final so yeah, it’s tangible.

“It’s well within our reach – definitely a realistic goal.”

The burning question is whether the Reds can reach the heights they hit in London.

The win ensured the run of the Irish provinces’ participation in the last four of Europe’s elite competition extends to six years.

But if beating Quins looked a bridge too far, surely overcoming Clermont on French soil is the stuff of fairytales.

Munster will relish the challenge. They’ ve beaten Castres and Perpignan away and lost to Toulon and – in this year’s pool stages – Racing Metro in the past four years.

They last tussled with Clermont in the 2008-09 season when they last reached the semis.

The province held out for a famous away point against Vern Cotter’s side in December ‘08 before earning a crucial home win the following week at Thomond Park.

Sherry and many of his colleagues weren’t part of that Reds side. It’s one that has undergone massive change since then.

In contrast, Clermont can currently claim to be Europe’s top club side.

Yet if Munster aren’t the battle-hardened force that twice conquered the continent, they believe they have qualities that can hurt Clermont.

“It’s hard to bottle that up and reproduce it,” Sherry said, reflecting on Sunday’s display.

“But you’re going away to France, a great stadium, both sets of fans are hugely passionate and I’ve no doubt that we can reach the quality levels, the work-rate levels we did on Sunday – the intensity.

“I don’t think that will be an issue for an away semi-final in France.”

Sherry is expecting further phenomenal support from the Red Army in Montpellier after the numbers that travelled last weekend.

“We did a lap to thank them,” he said. “It was just incredible.

“In the changing room after, it’s relief almost. Then you just see the smiles on people’s faces, people congratulating each other, texting your family.

“So that part is fun – but when you’re out on the pitch on the job, you don’t think about the fun aspect.”

Sherry added: “I could see everyone I know from home and it gives you such a lift. We just want to win for them.

“We were repaying them because it’s hard to get over, it’s hard to get tickets. We definitely feel we owe them and every time we go onto the pitch.”